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Thursday, April 19, 2018

UPDATED: 'The Equalizer 2' Trailer: Denzel Washington Is Up To His Badass Old Tricks

From all appearances, I like The Equalizer more than most people. It has a lunatic edge and one of the
villains is essentially the Devil, which I’m all for. So, of course I’m game
for another team up between star Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua.
The Equalizer 2 drops this summer, and to get those of us
fond of watching Denzel wreck dudes hyped up, it now has a new trailer.

It looks like Robert McCall is still up to his old tricks,
helping the helpless, defending those who can’t defend themselves, and finding
inventing ways to fuck up bad guys. The hardware store climax in The
Equalizer is one of my favorite moments—every time I go into a Home
Depot or whatever, all I can think about is how awesome an action movie scene
you could make with all the tools—but the credit card bit in this trailer is
pretty sweet.

As a kid, I loved The Equalizer, the Edward
Woodward-starring TV series. It was part of that slew of ‘80s shows where
badasses working outside the law set things right for the little guy. (I also
love that was a whole subgenre in the 1980s.) The film maintains the same basic
conceit, as Denzel befriends a young hooker with a heart of gold. This time
around, it looks like things get more personal, as someone kills one of his
pals from his spy days, Melissa Leo’s Susan Plummer, and he has to exact a bit
of vengeance the only way he knows how, timed and brutal.

Bill Pullman also returns for The Equalizer
2, as Brian Plummer, Susan’s husband. Game of Thrones
standout Pedro Pascal also joins the party, and looks to have some connection
to the espionage world.

Sure, The Equalizer doesn’t hit the same
highs as John Wick, which also hit screens in 2014, but it’s
right right up my alley. I’m all in on watching an older dude, especially Denzel Washington, just wreak cinematic havoc. And though his offerings have been hit
and miss over the years, this style also suits Antoine Fuqua’s particular set
of skills.

The Equalizer 2 hits theaters on July 20.

UPDATED: This is apparently the international trailer. There's a domestic U.S. trailer as well that I didn't initially see. I'm actually glad, because the international trailer is by far the superior of the two. This one is hamfisted and just okay, but give it a whirl below anyway if you're feeling frisky.